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GALE CAPTURES DRAMATIC VICTORY IN THE FORD ECOBOOST 200

There was no shortage of drama tonight at Homestead-Miami Speedway as a late race incident led to a green-white-checkered finish in the Ford EcoBoost 200. During the dash to the finish line, Cale Gale pinned Kyle Busch against the wall as the two finished neck-and-neck, with Gale edging Busch for his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series victory by mere margin of .014 seconds.

With a 13th place finish, James Buescher claimed his first NASCAR Camping World Truck Series championship. On the last laps of the race, Ty Dillon was making a charge to take both the race and the championship title lead before getting caught in a collision with Kyle Larson, ending Dillon’s title dreams. Dillon did not walk away empty-handed though, as he is the winner of the 2012 Sunoco Rookie of the Year Award.

Gale’s victory is his first in 32 NASCAR Camping World Truck Series races. It marked his eighth top-10 finish of the 2012 season. Gale is the series record 16th different winner in 2012, as well as the ninth different first-time winner this season, also a series record. Busch came in second in the race, posting his fifth top-10 finish in six races at Homestead-Miami Speedway, and his third top-10 finish in 2012. Joey Coulter finished third in both the race and the season, posting his second top-10 finish in two races in Miami.

There were five caution flags during the race, including a late collision on Lap 133. The incident resulted in a red flag that lasted more than 10 minutes. Explaining the impact the accident had on his race, Busch said the wreck “Just brought too many trucks and changed the order around too much, and it came down to losing it on a yellow again.”

The thrilling conclusion of tonight’s race is just a preview of what fans can expect for the remainder of Ford Championship Weekend. The Ford EcoBoost 300 NASCAR Nationwide Series championship race will run Saturday, Nov. 17, at 4:30 p.m. ET.

The Ford EcoBoost 400 NASCAR Sprint Cup Series championship is set for Sunday, Nov. 18, at 3:00 p.m.

(University of Miami Field Experience Program student, Jessica Medearis, contributed to this report)